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ON 



POPULAR EDUCATION. 



•v: "" . -. 



*% % 



PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS 



ON 



POPULAR EDUCATION. 



BY H, BROUGHAM, ESQ. M.P. F.R.S. 



FROM THE TWENTIETH LONDON EDITION. 



6S 



BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED AT THE 
OFFICE OF THE MASSACHUSETTS JOURNAL. 

1826. 



Us 






PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS, &c. 



J_ BEGIN by assuming that there is no class of the community 
so entirely occupied with labour as not to have an hour or two 
every other day at least, to bes^flow upon the pleasure and im- 
provement to be derived from reading — or so poor as not to 
have the means of contributing something towards purchasing this 
gratification, the enjoyment of which, beside the present amuse- 
ment, is the surest way both to raise our character and better 
our condition. — Let us consider how the attainment of this in- 
estimable advantage may be most successfully promoted. 

It is no doubt manifest, that the people themselves must be 
the great agents in accomplishing the work of their own instruc- 
tion. Unless they deeply feel the usefulness of knowledge, and 
resolve to make some sacrifices for the acquisition of it, there 
can be no reasonable prospect of this grand object being at- 
tained. But it is equally clear, that to wait until the whole 
people with one accord take the determination to labour in this 
good work, would be endless. A portion of the community 
may be sensible of its advantages, and willing at any fair price 
to seek them, long before the same laudable feeling becomes 
universal ; and their successful efforts to better their intellectual 
condition, cannot fail to spread more widely the love of learn- 
ing, and the disrelish for sensual and vulgar gratifications. 

But although the people must be the source and the instru- 
ments of their own improvement, they may be essentially aided 
in their efforts to instruct themselves. Impediments which might 
be sufficient to retard or wholly to obstruct their progress, may 
be removed ; and efforts which, unassisted, might prove fruitless, 
arising perhaps from a transient, or only a partial enthusiasm for 
the attainment of knowledge, may, through judicious encourage- 
ment, become effectual, and settle into a lasting and an universal 
habit. A little attention to the difficulties that principally beset 
the working classes in their search after information, will lead 
us to the knowledge both of the direction in which their more 
affluent neighbours can lend them most valuable assistance, and 
of the part which must be borne by themselves. 

Their difficulties may all be classed under one or other of two 
heads— want of money and want of time. To the first belongs 
the difficulty of obtaining those books and instructors which 
persons in easier circumstances can command ; and to the second 



it is owing that the same books and instructors are not adapted 
to them, which suffice to teach persons who have leisure to go 
through the whole course of any given branch of science. In 
some lines of employment, there is a peculiar difficulty in finding 
time for acquiring knowledge ; as in those which require severe 
labour, or, though less severe, yet in the open air ; for here the 
tendency to sleep immediately after it ceases, and the greater por- 
tion of sleep required, oppose very serious obstacles to instruction : 
on the other hand those occupations are less unfavourable to re- 
flection, and have a considerable tendency to enlarge the mind. 
The first method, then, which suggests itself for promoting 
knowledge among the poor, is the encouragement of cheap pub- 
lications; and in no country is this more wanted than in Great 
Britain, where, with all our expertness in manufactures, we have 
never succeeded in printing books at so little as double the price 
required by our neighbours on the continent. A gown, which any 
where else would cost half a guinea, may be made in this country 
for half a crown ; but a volume, fully as well or better printed, 
and on paper which, if not as fine, is quite fine enough, and far 
more agreeable to the eyes, than could be bought in London for 
half a guinea, costs only six francs, or less than five shillings, at 
Paris. The high price of labour in a trade where so little can be 
done, or at least has been done by machinery, is one of the causes 
of this difference. But the direct tax upon paper is another ; and 
the determination to print upon paper of a certain price is a 
third ; and the aversion to crowd the page is a fourth. Now all of 
these, except the first, may be got over. The duty on paper is 
threepence a pound, which must increase the price of an octavo 
volume eightpence or ninepence ; and this upon paper of every 
kind, and printing of every kind; so that if by whatever means 
the price of a book were reduced to the lowest, say to three or 
four shillings, about a fourth or a fifth must be added for the 
tax ; and this book, brought as low as possible to accommodate 
the poor man, with the coarsest paper and most ordinary type, 
must pay exactly as much to government as the finest hot-pressed 
work of the same size. This tax ought, therefore, by all means, 
to be given up ; but though, from its being the same upon all 
paper used in printing, no part of it can be saved by using 
coarse paper, much of it may be saved by crowding the letter- 
press, and having a very narrow margin. This experiment has 
been tried of late in London upon a considerable scale ; but it 
may easily be carried a great deal further. Thus, Hume's 
History* has been begun ; and one volume, containing about two 
and a half of the former editions, has been published.! It is sold 

* It is to be regretted that ar^ edition of this popular work should ever be 
published without notes, to warn the reader of the author's partiality when moved 
by the interest of civil and ecclesiastical controversy, and his careless and fan- 
ciful narrative when occupied with ether events. 

t Dolby ''s cheap Hi« f .ories. 



for six shillings and sixpence; but it contains a great number of 
cuts neatly executed ; the paper is much better than is necessary; 
and the printing is perfectly well done. Were the cuts omitted, 
and the most ordinary paper and type used, the price might be 
reduced to 4s. or 4s. 6d. ;* and a book might thus be sold for 12s. 
or 14s., which now costs perhaps above two pounds. A repeal 
of the tax upon paper, which is truly a tax upon knowledge, and 
falls the heaviest upon those who most want instruction, would 
further reduce the price to nine or ten shillings. 

The method of publishing in Numbers is admirably suited to 
the circumstances of the classes whose income is derived from 
wages. Twopence is easily saved in a week by almost any la- 
bourer ; and by a mechanic, sixpence in a week may without 
difficulty be laid by. Those who have not attended to such 
matters, would be astonished to find how substantial a meal of 
information may be had by twopenny-worths. Seven numbers, 
for fourteen pence, comprise Franklin's Life and Essays; four for 
eightpence, Bacon's Essays ; Cook's Voyages, in threepenny 
numbers, with many good engravings, may be had complete for 
seven shillings ; and Plutarch's Lives, for ten shillings, will soon 
be finished.! The Mirror, a weekly publication, containing much 
matter of harmless and even improving amusement, selected with 
very considerable taste, has besides, in almost every number, in- 
formation of a most instructive kind. Its great circulation must 
prove highly beneficial to the bulk of the people. I understand, 
that of some parts upwards of 80,000 were printed, and there can 
be no doubt that the entertainment which is derived from read- 
ing the lighter essays, may be made the means of conveying; 
knowledge of a more solid and useful description — a considera- 
tion which I trust the conductor will always bear in mind. The 
Mechanics Magazine, J most ably edited by Mr. Robertson, 
has from its establishment, had an extensive circulation ; and it 
communicates for threepence a week, far more valuable informa- 
tion, both scientific and practical, than was ever before placed 
•within the reach of those who could afford to pay six times as 
much for it. ~ A similar work is published at Glasgow upon the 
same plan. Upon a similar plan and at the same price a valua- 
ble work, called the " Register of Arts and Sciences " has been 
published weekly for about eight months. The Chemist, also for 
threepence, is learnedly and judiciously conducted by Mr. Hodg- 
kin, and contains an admirable collection of the most useful che- 
mical papers and intelligence. A Mechanics Register has lately 
been begun, and with immediate success. It is a weekly paper, 
for the same price; and although, being principally intended for 

* The English shilling is about 22 cents. 

t LimbircP? Classics. 

% Knight and Lacy ; who have done great service by publishing other works 
of singular cheapness and merit. The Dictionary of Architecture is one of the 
most extraordinary in this respect. 



the use of the workmen, it bestows peculiar attention on whatever 
concerns that order, yet the occurrences which it communicates, 
ruid the discussions which it contains, are also those most inter- 
esting to philosophers themselves. The day, indeed, seems now 
to break, when we may hope to see no marked line of separa- 
tion between the two classes. I trust another distinction will 
also soon be known no more. The circulation of cheap works 
of a merely amusing kind, as well as those connected with the 
arts, is at present very great in England ; those of an aspect 
somewhat more forbidding, though at once moral, interesting, 
snd most useful, is very limited ; while in Scotland there is a 
considerable demand for them. Habits of reading longer form- 
ed in that country, have taught the inhabitants, that nothing in 
reality can be more attractive than the profound wisdom of every 
day's application, sustained by unbounded learning, and embel- 
lished with the most brilliant fancy, which so richly furnishes 
every page of the Essays of Bacon. 

It is undoubtedly from the circumstance just mentioned, that in 
looking over the list of those cheap publications, which are un- 
connected with the arts, we certainly do not find many that are of 
a very instructive cast ; and here it is that something may be done 
by way of encouragement. That the demand for books, cheap 
as well as dear, must tend to produce them, no one denies ; but 
then it is equally certain, that the publication of cheap books in- 
creases the number of readers among the poor ; and one can 
hardly conceive a greater benefit than those would confer, who 
should make a judicious selection from our best authors upon 
ethics, politics, and history, and promote cheap editions of them 
in Numbers, without waiting until the demand was such as to make 
the sale a matter of perfect certainty. Lord John Russell, in 
his excellent and instructive speech upon Parliamentary Reform, 
delivered in 1S22, stated, that ' an establishment was commenced 
* a few years ago by a number of individuals, with a capital of 
i not less than a million, for the purpose of printing standard 
4 works at a cheap rate ;' and he added, ' that it had been, very 
< much checked in its operation by one of those Acts for the sup- 
i pression of knowledge which were passed in the year 1819, 
1 although one of its rules was not to allow the venders of its 
; works to sell any book on the political controversies of the 
c day.' The only part of this plan which appears at all objec- 
tionable, is the restriction upon politics. Why should not poli- 
tical, as well as all other works, be published in a cheap form, 
and in Numbers ? That history, the nature of the constitution, 
the doctrines of political economy, may safely be disseminated in 
this shape, no man now-a-days will be hardy enough to deny. 
Popular tracts, indeed, on the latter subject, ought to be much 
more extensively circulated for the good of the working classes, 
as well as of the more affluent. The interests of both are deeply 



concerned in sounder views being taught them; I can hardly 
imagine, for example, a greater service being rendered to the 
men, than expounding to them the true principles and mutual 
relations of population and wages ; and both they and their 
masters will assuredly experience the effects of the prevailing 
ignorance upon such questions, as soon as any interruption shall 
happen in the commercial prosperity of the country, if indeed the 
present, course of things, daily tending to lower wages as well as 
profits, and set the two classes in opposition to each other, shall 
not of itself bring on a crisis. To allow, or rather to induce the 
people to take part in those discussions, is therefore not merely 
safe, but most wholesome for the community, and yet some 
points connected with them are matter of pretty warm conten- 
tion in the present times ; but these may be freely handled, it 
seems, with safety; indeed, unless they are so handled, such 
subjects cannot be discussed at all. Why then may not every 
topic of politics, party as well as general, be treated of in 
cheap publications ? It is highly useful to the community that the 
true principles of the constitution, ecclesiastical and civil, should 
be well understood b)' every man who lives under it. The 
great interests of civil and religious liberty are mightily promoted 
by such wholesome instruction ; but the good order of society 
gains to the full as much by it. The peace of the country, and 
the stability of the government, could not be more effectually 
secured than by the universal diffusion of this kind of knowledge. 
The abuses which through time have crept into the practice of the 
constitution, the errors committed in its administration, and the 
improvements which a change of circumstances require even in 
its principles, may most fitly be expounded in the same manner. 
And if any man or set of men deny the existence of such abuses, see 
no error in the conduct of those who administer the government, 
and regard all innovation upon its principles as pernicious, they 
may propagate their doctrines through the like channels. Cheap 
works being furnished, the choice of them may be left to Ihe 
readers. Assuredly, a country which tolerates every kind, even 
the most unmeasured, of daily and weekly discussions in the 
newspapers, can have nothing to dread from the diffusion of 
political doctrines in a form less desultory, and more likely to 
make them be both well weighed at the time, and preserved for 
repeated perusal. It cannot be denied, that the habit of cursory 
reading, engendered by finding all subjects discussed in publica- 
tions, which, how great soever their merits may be, no one 
looks at a second time, is unfavourable to the acquisition of solid 
and permanent information.* 

* I am e:lad to find this task in part most ably executed by my worthy friend 
Mr. Marshal], of Leeds. He has published a small elementary treatise on the 
principles of (Economics for the use of the working classes. It is most ably 
executed. 

a 



10 

Although the publication of cheap works is the most effectua 
method of bringing knowledge within the reach of a poor man's 
income, there are other modes deserving our attention, whereby 
a similar assistance may be rendered, and his resources econo- 
mized. Circulating libraries may in some circumstances be of 
use; but, generally speaking, they are little suited to those who 
have only an hour or two every day, or every other day, to be- 
stow upon reading. Book Clubs, or Reading Societies, are far 
more suited to the labouring classes, maybe established by very 
small numbers of contributors, and require an inconsiderable 
fund. If the associates live near one another, arrangements may 
be easily made for circulating the books, so that they may be in 
use every moment that any one can spare from his work. Here, 
too, the rich have an opportunity presented to them of promoting 
instruction without constant interference ; the gift ofafew books, 
as a beginning, will generally prove a sufficient encouragement to 
carry on the plan by weekly or monthly contributions ; and with 
the gift a scheme may be communicated to assist the contributors 
in arranging the plan of their association. I would here remark 
the great effect of combination upon such plans, in making the 
money of individuals go far. Three-halfpence a week laid by ia 
a whole family, will enable it to purchase in a year one of the 
cheap volumes of which I have spoken above, and a penny a week 
would be sufficient, were the publications made as cheap as 
possible. Now, let only a few neighbours join, say ten or 
twelve, and lend each other the books bought ; and it is evident, 
that for a price so small as to be within the reach of the poorest 
labourer, all may have full as many books in the course of the 
year as it is possible for them to read, even supposing that the 
books bought by every one are not such as all the others desire 
to have.* The publication of books in numbers greatly helps 
this plan ; for it enables those who choose to begin it at any time, 
without waiting until they have laid by enough to purchase a 
volume in each family ; and where books not so published are 
wanted, booksellers would do well to aid such associations by 
giving them a year's credit ; whatever propagates a taste for 
reading must secure their interest in the end. In many parts of 
Scotland, Parish Libraries have been formed with a view to the 
same object. They originated, I believe, in general with the 
wealthier classes and the farmers ; but after laying the foundation 
by collecting a few books, those persons left the management 

* It is found that the average number of volumes read by the members of a 
Mechanics Institution, in a great town, is between 10 and 11 in a year; by the 
members of a book society, in the villages of an agricultural district, between 5 
and 6. Now the cheap books contain between two and three times the matter 
in the ordinary publications; therefore, it is evident, that such an association as 
that proposed, would have three times as much reading as is wanted in towns, 
and live or six times as much as in the country. 



11 

most wisely to the readers themselves, and required them to pay 
for the support of the fund and purchase of new books. Cottage 
Libraries upon a somewhat similar plan are beginning to be 
formed in some parts of England. There is one at Taunton, 
where the contributors pay only a penny a week, and above a 
thousand issues of books have been made to 80 persons in the 
course of a year. The only officers are a treasurer and librarian, 
who attend every Saturday evening, to exchange the books and 
receive subscriptions. They also select the books ; a faulty 
arrangement in my opinion, unless the officers are themselves 
chosen by the readers. The obvious and the sound plan is to 
establish some general regulation respecting the kind of books 
to be purchased, (which must, in some degree, depend on the 
circumstances of each association,) and then to let each contri- 
butor choose in proportion to what he pays, or to let several 
join in choosing a book equal in price to their united contri- 
butions. If the rich patrons of the scheme wish to interfere with 
the choice, it should be either by giving books, or choosing in 
proportion to their pecuniary contribution. But I confess I 
should be better pleased to see such libraries, after they are once 
established, left wholly to the support of the readers, who are 
sure to care for them if they pay for them, long after richer 
patrons would tire of the details.* 

An excellent plan wa£ about ten years ago adopted by Mr. S. 
Brown, of Haddington, for instructing the towns and villages of 
the county of East-Lothian, in succession, by means of the same 
books. It began with only a few volumes; but he now has 19 
Itinerant Libraries of 50 volumes each, which are sent round 
the different stations, remaining a certain time at each. For these 
there are 19 divisions, and 15 stations, 4 divisions being always 
in use at the chief town, and 2 at another town of some note. 
An individual at each station acts as librarian. There are 700 
or 800 readers, and the expenses, under 60/. a year, are defrayed 
by the produce of a sermon, the sale of some tracts, and sub- 
scriptions, in small sums averaging 5s. This plan is now adopt- 
ed in Berwickshire, by Mr. Buchan, of Kelloe, with this very 
great improvement, that the current expenses are defrayed by 
the readers, who pay two pence a month, and I hope choose the 
books. These libraries have given rise to a Scientific Institu- 
tion, as w^e shall presently see ; and it is peculiarly gratifying 
to observe, that the original scheme from which the whole has 

* Since this Pamphlet was first published I am extremely gratified to find 
that my suggestions have been acted upon at Haverfordwest, where an Agri- 
cultural Book Society has been formed, under the patronage of Captain Ack- 
land, ?/tr. Harvey, my friend the Honourable E. Edwardes, M. P., Colonel 
Scourfield, M. P., and others. The principle which 1 have ventured to recom- 
mend, of allowing each subscriber to name books to the amount of his subscrip- 
tion, has been adopted. 



\2 

followed, was merelj ^ library for ntligioM traclt, established 
over since 1810 j ami into which were afterwards introduced, in 
perfect consistency with the primary object some literary and 
scientific works* 

It is, how i\ <w not only necessary thai the money of the work- 
ing classes, but their time also, should be eoonomiied; and this 
consideration leads to various suggestions, 

in tin- jlrst place, there are many occupations in which a 

number of persons work in the same room ; and unless there 

bq something noisy in the work, one may always read while the 
others are employed, [f there sre twenty-four men together 
this arrangement would only require each man to work one 
extra day in tour weeks, supposing the reading to go on the 
whole day, which it would not ; but q hoy or a girl might ho 

Iged to pel term the task, at an expense so trifling S3 not to he 

felt Tins expedient, too, a, may be observed, would save mo- 
ney as well as time; one copy of a book, ami that borrowed for 
the purpose, or obtained from a reading society or circulating 
library* would suffice tor a number of persons. 1 may add, 
that great help would he given by the better informed ami more 

;ipt learners, to sueh as are slower of apprehension and more 

ignorant ; ami disoussion (under proper regulations) would be 
of singular use to all, even the most forward proficients ; whioh 

leads me to observe, 

Secondly ) That societies for the express purpose of promot 
conversation erfc .1 most useful adjunct to any private or other 
education received bj the working classes, Those who do not 
work together in numbers, or whose occupation is o( a noisy 

kind, may thus, one or two evenings in the week, moot ami 00 

tain all the advantages o( mutual instruction ami discussion, 
An association of this kind will naturally combine with its plan 
the advantages of a hook club, The members will most pro- 
bablj be such as are engaged in similar pursuits, ami whose 
tram 01 reading ami thinking may ho nearly the same. The 
only considerable evils which they will have to avoid, are, being 

lumeroua, snd falling too much into debate. From twenty 
to thirty seems a convenient number; ami nearer the former 
than the latter, The tone ought to ho given from the begin* 

, in ridicule of speech making, both as to length and wordi- 
ness, A subject id" discussion ma j be given out at one meeting 

for the next ; Or the chairman may read a portion of some work, 

allowing each member to stop him at any moment, for the pur- 

poae of controverting, supporting, or illustrating by his remarks 

the p just \w\^\. To societies of this kind master work* 

ho power of affording great facilities, Thej may 

allow an hour o\\ the da\s when the meetings are holden ; or it 

that is to i much, thtj may allow the men to begin an hour ear* 
lier on those daj *> ; or if even that cannot be managed, they i 



IB 

let Ihcm have an hour and a half, on condition of working half an 
hour extra on three other days. But a more essential help will 
he the giving them a place to meet. There are hardly twenty 
or thirty workmen in any branch of business, some of whoso 
masters have not a room, workshop, warehouse, or other place 
sufficient to accommodate such a society : and it is quite neces- 
sary that the place of rendezvous should on no account ho 
the alehouse. Whoever lent his premises for this purpose, 
might satisfy himself that no improper persons should be ad- 
mitted, by taking the names of the whole club from two or three 
steady men, who could be answerable for the demeanour of the 
rest. Any interference beyond this would be unwise : unless in so 
far as the men might voluntarily consult their masters from time to 
time ; and their disposition to do so must depend wholly upon the 
relations of kindness and mutual confidence subsisting between 
the parties. If any difficulty should be found in ohtaining tho 
use of a room from their masters, there seems to he no good 
reason why they should not have the use of any school-room 
that may be in their neighbourhood; and one room of this kind 
may accommodate several societies; three, if the meetings arc 
twice a week ; and six if they only meet once. I shall presently 
illustrate this matter further when I come to speak of the Glas- 
gow Institution. 

In the third place, it is evident that as want of time prevents 
the operative classes from pursuing a systematic course of edu- 
cation in all its details, a more summary and compendious 
method of instruction must be adopted by them. The majority- 
must be content with never going beyond a certain point, and 
with reaching that point by the most expeditious route. A few, 
thus initiated in the truths of science, will no doubt push their 
attainments much further ; and for these the works in common 
use will suffice; but for the multitude it will he most essential 
that works should be prepared adapted to their circumstances. 
Thus, 'in teaching them geometry, it is not necessary to go 
through the whole steps of that beautiful system, by which the 
most general and remote truths are connected with the few T sim- 
ple definitions and axioms ; enough will be accomplished, if they 
arc made to perceive the nature of geometrical investigation, 
and learn the leading properties of figure. In like marmer, they 
may be taught the doctrines of mechanics with a much more 
slender previous knowledge both of geometry and algebra, than 
the common elementary works ondynamicks pre-suppose in the 
reader. Hence, a most essential service will be rendered to the 
cause of knowledge by him who shall devote his time to the com- 
position of elementary treatises on the Mathematics, sufficiently 
clear, and yet sufficiently compendious, to exemplify the method 
of reasoning employed in that science, and to impart an accurate 
knowledge of the most useful fundamental propositions, with 



14 

their application to practical purposes; and treatises upon Na- 
tural Philosophy, which may teach the great principles of phy- 
sics, and their practical application, to readers who have but a ge- 
neral knowledge of mathematics, or who are even wholly ignorant 
of the science beyond the common rules of arithmetic. Nor let 
it be supposed, that the time thus bestowed is given merely to 
instruct the people in the rudiments of philosophy, though this 
"would of itself be an object sufficiently brilliant to allure the 
noblest ambition ; for what higher achievement did the most sub- 
lime philosophy ever aspire after, than to elevate the views and 
refine the character of the great mass of mankind — at least in later 
times, when science no longer looks down as of old upon the mul- 
titude, supercilious, and deeming that great spirits alone perish 
mot with the body ? But if extending the bounds of science 
itself be the grand aim of all philosophers in all ages, they indi- 
rectly, but surely, accomplish this object, who enable thousands 
to speculate and experiment for one to whom the path of in- 
vestigation is now open. It is not necessary that all who are 
taught, or even any large proportion, should go beyond the ru- 
diments; but whoever feels within himself a desire and an apti- 
tude to proceed further, will press forward ; and the chances 
of discovery, both in the arts and in science itself, will be thus 
indefinitely multiplied. Indeed, those discoveries immediately 
connected with experiment and observation, are most likely to 
be made by men, whose lives being spent in the midst of mechan- 
ical operations, are at the same time instructed in the general 
principles upon which these depend, and trained betimes to 
habits of speculation. He who shall prepare a treatise simply and 
concisely unfolding the doctrines of Algebra, Geometry, and 
Mechanics, and adding examples calculated to strike the imagi- 
nation, of their connexion with other branches of knowledge, and 
with the arts of common life, may fairly claim a large share in that 
rich harvest of discovery and invention which must be reaped by 
the thousands of ingenious and active men, thus enabled to bend 
their faculties towards objects at once useful and sublime. 

Although much may be done by the exertions of individuals, 
is manifest that a great deal more may be effected by the labou 
of a body, in furthering this important measure. The subject has 
for some time past been under consideration, and I am not with- 
out hopes of seeing formed a Society for promoting the compo- 
sition, publication, and distribution of cheap and useful works. 
To qualify persons for becoming efficient members of this asso- 
ciation, or co-operating with it all over the country, neither 
splendid talents, nor profound learning, nor great wealth are 
required. Though such gifts, in their amplest measure, would not 
be thrown away upon so important a design, the}' are by no 
means indispensable to its success. A well-informed man of 
good sense, filled with the resolution to obtain for the great body 






15 

of his fellow-creatures, that high improvement which both their 
understandings and their morals are by nature fitted to receive, 
may labour in this good work, either in the central institution or 
in some remote district, with the certainty of success, if he have 
only that blessing of leisure for the sake of which riches are 
chiefly to be coveted. Such a one, however averse to taste or 
habit to the turmoil of public affairs, or the more ordinary strifes 
of the world, may in all quiet and innocence enjoy the noblest 
gratification of which the most aspiring nature is susceptible; he 
may influence by his single exertions the character and the for- 
tunes of a whole generation, and thus wield a power to be envied 
even by vulgar ambition for the extent of its dominion — to be 
cherished by virtue itself for the unalloyed blessings it bestows. 

Fourthly, The preparation of elementary works is not the 
only, nor, at first, is it the most valuable service that can be ren- 
dered towards economizing the time of the labouring classes. 
The institution of Lectures is, of all the helps that can be given, 
the most valuable, where circumstances permit ; that is, in towns 
of a certain size. Much may thus be taught, even without any 
other instruction; but, combined with reading, and subservient 
to it, the effects of public lectures are great indeed, especially in 
the present deficiency of proper elementary works. The stu- 
dents are enabled to read with advantage; things are explained 
to them which no books sufficiently illustrate; access is afforded 
to teachers, who can remove the difficulties which occur perpet- 
ually in the reading of uneducated persons; a word may often 
suffice to get rid of some obstacle which would have impeded 
the unassisted student's progress for days ; and then, whatever 
requires the performance of experiments to become intelligible, 
can only be learnt by the bulk of mankind at a lecture, inas- 
much as the wealthy alone can have such lessons in private, and 
none but men highly gifted can hope to master those branches of 
science without seeing the experimental illustrations. 

The branches of knowledge to which these observations chiefly 
apply, are Mechanical Philosophy and Chemistry, both as be- 
ing more intimately connected with the arts, and as requiring 
more explanation and illustration by experiment. But the Ma- 
thematics, Astronomy, and Geology, the two former especially, 
are well fitted for being taught publicly, and are of great prac- 
tical use. Nor is there any reason why Moral and Politic:;! 
Philosophy should not be explained in public lectures, though 
they may be learnt by reading far more easily than the physical 
sciences. 

In all plans of this description, it is absolutely necessary that 
the expenses should mainly be defrayed by those for whose ben- 
efit they are contrived. It is the province of the rich to 
the foundation, by making certain advances which are required 
in the first instance, and enabling the poor to come forward, both 



16 

as learners and contributors. Bui no such scheme can either 
lake a deep root, or spread OTer the country bo as to produce 
its full measure of good, unless its support is derived from 
those who fitre chiefly to reap the benefits. Those benefits are 
well worth paying forj they arc no! only ot* great value in the 

improvement ami gratification which they afford to the mind, 

but in the direct addition which they make to the pecuniary re* 
sources of the labouring classes. Instruction in the principles 

upon which the arts depend, will repay in actual profit to those 

who live by the arts, fir more than the cost of learning, An 
artisan, a dyer, an engine-maker, will gain the more in money 
or money's worth for being an expert chemist or mechanician; 

and a farm -sen ant , or bailiff, for knowing the 'economy and 
diseases of cattle. 1 have before me the extract of a letter from 

one oi' the greatest engine-makers in the country, statin:;-, thai 

a young man in humble life had been selected from among 

many applicants, to fill a considerable place in the manufactory, 

on account Of his proficiency in science. The profit directly 

accruing from the knowledge of those science^ provides an im- 
mediate fund, out of which the COat Of acquiring it may he easily 
defrayed ; hut a fund is as certainly though somewhat more re- 
motely secured for repaying, with large interest, the expense of ac- 
quiring knowledge oi a more general description — those branches 
of learning which improve the morals, expand the understanding, 

and refine the taste. That invaluable fund is compos( v d of the 

savings made by substituting pure, and harmless ami cheap 

gratifications, in the stead of luxuries which are both grosser 
ami more costly — hurtful to the health, and wasteful of time. 

The yearly cost of a lecture in the larger cities, where en- 
lightened and public-spirited men may be iound willing to 
instruction for nothing, is indeed considerably 1 less than in 

smaller places, where a compensation must be made for the lec- 
turer's lime and work. But it seems advisable, that, even 

where gratuitous assistance 4 could be obtained, something like an 
adequate remuneration should be afforded, both to preserve the. 
principle of independence among the working classes, and to 

secure the more accurate and regular discharge oi the duty. We 
shall therefore suppose, that the lectures, as well as the current. 

expenses of the room, and where there are experiments, o( the 

iratUS, are to be paid lor; and still it appears by no means an 

undertaking beyond the reach of those classes. The most ex- 
pensive courses of teaching will be those* requiring apparatus; 
but those are likcw.se the most directly profitable to the scho- 
lars. Contributions may be reckoned upon to begin the plan, 

including the original purchase of apparatus; and then we may 
estimate the yearly cost, which alone will fall upon the mem- 

ofthe Associatipn. The bire of a room may be reckoned 

a lecturer. 10/.J wear and tear of apparatus, 



17 

20/.; assistant and servant, 10/.; clerk or collector, 10/.; tire 
and lamps, /)/.; printing and advertising, 15/.; making in all 130/. 
J jut if two, or three courses are delivered in the same room, the 
expenses of each will he reduced in proportion. Suppose three; 
the room may probably be had for 50/., the printing for 80/., and 
the servants for 30/.; so that the expense of each course will be 
reduced to about 100/. Each course may occupy six months, 
of weekly lectures; consequently, if only a hundred artisans are 
to be found who can spare a shilling a week, one lecture may he 
carried on for 130/.; and if KM) artisans can he (bund to spare a 
shilling a week, three courses may be carried on during the year, 
and each person attend the whole. This calculation, however, 
supposes a very inconsiderable town. If the families engaged in 
trade and handicrafts have, one with another, a single person 
Contributing, the number of 100 answers to a population of 
only 770, supposing the proportion of persons engaged in trade 
and handicrafts to be the same as in the West Riding of York- 
shire; and 710, taking the proportion of Lancashire. It', in- 
deed, we take the proportions l\\ the manufacturing towns, it 
will answer in some cases to a population of 5500, and in 
others of a little more than 500. But even taking the propor- 
tion from towns in the least manufacturing counties, as Hunt- 
ingdonshire, the population required to furnish 100 will not 
exceed 900 — which supposes a town of about 200 houses. One 
of three times the size is but an inconsiderable place; and yet 
in such a place upon a very moderate computation, 200 per- 
sons might easily be found to spare sixpence a week all the year 
round; which would be amply sullicient for two lectures. In 
the larger towns, where 500 or 600 persons might associate, five 
shillings a quarter would be sufficient to carry on three or four 
lectures, and leave between 150/. and 200/, a year for the pur- 
chase of books. 

» In estimating the expenses I have supposed a room to be 
hired and the rent to be moderate. To make a beginning! 
the parties must make a shift with any public room or other 
place that may be vacant ; the great point is to begin : the num- 
bers are pertain to increase, and the income, aith the numbers, 
as the plan becomes known and its manifold attractions ope- 
rate upon the people. For the same reason I reckon a small 
sum for apparatus. Great progress may be made in teaching 
with very cheap and simple experiments. Indeed some of the 
most important, if not the most showy, are the least costly and 
complicated. By far the grandest discoveries in natural science 
were made with hardly any apparatus. A pan of water and two 
thermometers were the tools that in the skilful hands of Black 
detected latent heat; a crown's worth of glass, threepenny-worth 
of salt, a little chalk, and a pair of scales, enabled the same great 
philosopher to found the system of modern chemistry, by tracing 
3 



13 

the existence and the combinations of fixed air ; with little mora 
machinery the genius of Scheele* created the materials of which 
the fabric was built, and anticipated some of the discoveries that 
have illustrated a later age ; a prism, a lens, and a sheet of paste- 
board enabled Newton to unfold the composition of light, and 
the origin of colours ; Franklint ascertained the nature of light- 
ning with a kite, a wire, a bit of riband, and a key: — to say 
nothing of the great chemists of our own day, of whose most use- 
ful, perhaps most philosophical discovery, the principle might 
have been traced with the help of a common wire fire-guard. 
Even the elements of mechanics may be explained with appa- 
ratus almost as cheap and simple. — To take one instance; the 
fundamental property of the lever (and I may say of the whole 
science) may be demonstrated by a foot rule, a knife, and a few 
leaden balls of equal size. The other mechanical powers (which are 
indeed for the most part resolvable into the lever) may be ex- 
plained with almost equal ease ; and after all, it is those principles 
that practical men most require to have unfolded, and their appli- 
cation to mechanism illustrated, by figures and instruments. Ma- 
chinery, even in its complicated form, is more easily understood 
by them, because they are in practice familiar with its operations 
and terms, and will follow the description of an engine and its 
working without a model, or at most with a drawing, far more 
readily than the learners of natural science in other conditions 
of life. The simplification of apparatus for teaching physical 
science is an important object, and one to which learned men 
may most usefully direct their attention. There cannot be a 
doubt, that a compendious set of machines may be constructed to 
illustrate at a very cheap price a whole course of lectures. Cer- 
tain parts may be prepared capable of being formed into various 
combinations, so as to present different engines ; and where sepa- 
rate models are necessary, their construction may be greatly sim- 
plified by omitting parts which are not essential to explain the 
principle, and show the manner of working. The price, too, 
will be greatly reduced when a larger number being required of 
each, they may be prepared by wholesale. A friend of mine is 
at present occupied in devising the best means of simplifying 
apparatus for lectures upon the mechanical powers; and cheap 
chemical laboratories may then receive his consideration. It is 
likewise in contemplation at a great manufacturing establish- 
ment, where every part of the machinery is made upon the spot, 
to prepare a number of sets of cheap apparatus for teaching, so 
that any Mechanics Institution may on very moderate terms be 
furnished at least with what is necessary for carrying on a course 
of dynamics The drawings may be multiplied by the poly- 
graphic methods generally in use. 

The difficulty of obtaining a fit lecturer is one likely for some 
* A working chemist. f A working printer. 



10 

time to be much felt, especially in small towns. Cne method of 
removing it is by sending an experienced teacher from place to 
place; and the man qualified for the task, who should fastidi- 
ously reject so useful and so honourable an occupation, might 
be a man of science, but would little deserve to be called a phi- 
losopher. No talents and no acquirements are too great to be 
thus applied ; and no use to which parts and learning can be put 
is more dignified. But another supply of instructors will soon be 
ready. Each institution now established must in a short time form 
teachers. Amonga great number of students, some must be found 
to make such progress as will qualify them for the office. In the 
Edinburgh School of Arts a joiner has for some time past been 
teaching mathematics, w T hich he learnt there. At Glasgow, a 
person of the same trade, who had been taught at the school esta- 
blished by Dr. Birkbeck, has lectured on geography, chemistry, 
and mechanics. These instances prove that the men will be able 
to teach ; it is equally clear that the wages of a lecturer will make 
them turn their attention to this business in places where one is 
wanted. 

After all, it may often happen that a lecture cannot be un- 
dertaken on however moderate a plan ; in that case it will be 
advisable to begin with a library, to which a lecture may 
afterwards be added. — This was the course pursued at Kendal, 
where a ''Mechanics and Apprentices Library" was begun last 
spring, and in autumn a course of lectures w r as delivered upon 
the Philosophy of Natural History. At Carlisle, and I believe 
at Hawick, the same method has been adopted. 

I have remarked, that in forming these Institutions, it is a 
fundamental principle to make the expenses be mainly defrayed 
by the mechanics themselves; it is another principle, in my opir 
nion equally essential, that they should have the principal share 
in the management. This seems necessary for securing both 
the success and the independence of the system. Nor is there 
the least reason t« apprehend mismanagement. If benefit societies 
are, upon the w r hole, well managed, we may rely upon institu- 
tions being still better conducted, w r here the improvement of the 
mind being the object, those only will ever take an active part, 
who are desirous of their own advancement in knowledge, and of 
the general instruction of the class to which they belong. Indeed 
there seems no better means of securing the continued attention 
of the Directors, than placing the direction in the hands of those 
w 7 ho are alone interested in the prosperity of the concern. Nei- 
ther is there any fear that the suggestions of persons in a higher 
station, and of more ample information, may not be duly attended 
to. Gratitude for the assistance received, and the advice offered, 
together with a conviction that the only motive for interfering is 
the good of the establishment, will give at least their just weight 
to the recommendations of patrons ; and if it were not always so, 



20 

far better would it be to see such influence fail entirely, than to 
run the risk of the apathy which might be occasioned among the 
men. and the abuse of the Institutions themselves, which might 
frequently be produced by excluding from the control of their 
affairs those whose interests are the only object in view. The 
opinions of patrons are always sure to have influence as lonp; as 
their object plainly is to promote the good of those for whom 
the Institution was founded ; and as soon as they are actuated by 
any other views, it is very fit that their influence should cease. 
There is nearly as little reason to apprehend, that the neces- 
sity of discussing, at meetings of the members, the affairs of the 
Institution, will give rise to a spirit of controversy and a habit 
of making speeches. Those meetings for private business will 
of course be held very seldom ; and a feeling may always be 
expected to prevail, that the continuance of the establishment 
depends upon preserving union, notwithstanding any diversity 
of opinion in matters of detail, and upon keeping the discus- 
sion of rules and regulations subordinate to the attendance upon 
the lectures, the main object of the establishment. The time 
when information and advice is most wanted, with other assist- 
ance from the wealthy and the well informed, is at the beginning 
of the undertaking; and at that time the influence of those pa- 
trons will necessarily be the most powerful. Much depends upon 
a rie;ht course being taken at first; proper rules laid down; fit 
subjects selected for lecture ; good teachers chosen; and upon all 
these matters the opinions and wishes of those who chiefly con- 
tribute to found the several institutions, must receive great at- 
tention. What I have now stated, is not merely that which 
seems likely to happen by reasoning from the circumstances; it 
has in fact happened in the instances where the trial has been 
made on the largest scale. We have never found any inconve- 
nience from this plan during the twelvemonths that our Mecha- 
nics Institution in London has been established. In Glasgow, 
there is a much longer experience in its favour; with this addi- 
tion, that a contrary plan having at one time been pursued there, 
the men ceased to interest themselves in the lecture; and the In- 
stitution declined. The extraordinary success of the new Insti- 
tution, which now places it at the head of all such establishments, 
may chiefly be ascribed to its administration being in the hands 
of the men themselves.* 

I have said that the independence of these undertakings, as well 
as their success, is to be considered. I really should be disposed 
to view any advantage in point of knowledge gained by the body 
of the people, as somewhat equivocal, or at least as much alloyed 

*It gives me the greatest pleasure to perceive that these principles have 
been universally adopted since the circulation of this tract. The rule has 
been laid down in all the institutions fouied, that two-thirds of the com- 
mittee shall be working men. 



21 

with evil, if purchased by the increase of their dependence upon 
their superiors. They will always be abundantly thankful for 
the help afforded them in beginning such institutions, and quite 
ready to receive advice from those who render them assistance. 
But if the latter keep the management entirely in their own 
hands, they enforce the appeal to gratitude by something very 
like control ; and they hurt the character of those whom they 
would serve. For this reason, as well as for promoting more ef- 
fectually and generally the establishment of these institutions, it 
is of the last importance that the yearly expense should be re- 
duced to such a sum as can be wholly raised by the students. 
What they receive in money from their superiors will then be 
given once for all at the outset; what they receive from time to 
time in good counsel, and in teaching, either by lectures or pub- 
lications, shows much real kindness, confers a great benefit, and 
ensures a grateful return, without bringing into action any of 
those feelings alike painful and injurious, which arise from the as- 
sumption of authority grounded on the mere differences of rank 
and wealth. 

It is now fit that we advert to the progress that has already 
been made in establishing this system of instruction. Its com- 
mencement was the work of Dr. Birkbeck, to whom the people 
of this island owe a debt of gratitude, the extent of which it 
would not be easy, perhaps in the present age not possible, to 
describe; for as, in most cases, the effective demand precedes 
the supply, it would have been more in the ordinary course of 
things, that a teacher should spring up at the call of the me- 
chanics for instruction : but long before any symptoms appeared 
of such an appetite on their part, and with the avowed purpose 
of implanting the desire in them, or at least of unfolding and 
directing it, by presenting the means of gratification, that most 
learned and excellent person formed the design, as enlightened 
as it was benevolent, of admitting the working classes of his 
fellow-countrymen to the knowledge of sciences, till then almost 
deemed the exclusive property of the higher ranks in society, 
and only acquired accidentally and irregularly in a few rare in- 
stances of extraordinary natural talents, by any of the working 
classes. Dr. Birkbeck, before he settled in London, where he 
has since reached the highest station in the medical profession, 
resided for some time in Glasgow as Professor in ;he Ander- 
son College ; and about the year 1800, he announced a Course 
of Lectures on Natural Philosophy, and its application to the 
Arts, for the instruction of mechanics. But a few at the first 
availed themselves of this advantage; by degrees, however, the 
extraordinary perspicuity of the teacher's method, the judicious 
selection of his experiments, and the natural attractions of the 
subject, to men whose lives were spent in directing or witnessing 
operations; of which the principles were now first unfolded to 



22 

them, proved successful in diffusing a general taste for the study; 
and when he left Glasgow two or three years afterwards, about 
seven hundred eagerly and constantly attended the class. 

For some time after Dr. Birkbeck's departure, the lectures of 
his able and worthy successor Dr. Ure were w r ell frequented ; 
and when the number of the students began to decline, probably 
from the circumstance of their having no direct share in the 
management of the Institution, the Professor happily thought of 
adding to it a library for the use of the mechanics, and entrust- 
ing the direction of it entirely to a committee chosen by them- 
selves. This gave new life to the enterprise, and the Gas 
Light Company having in return for some services rendered them 
by the Professor, agreed to light the book-room two evenings 
in the week, a custom arose among the men who came to change 
their books, of remaining to converse upon the subjects of their 
reading, and an extraordinary impulse was thus given to their 
spirit of inquiry. The Library Committee, too, being chosen by 
the whole body, became in some sort its representative, and 
claimed to interfere in the management of the Institution. It 
soon happened that some of their suggestions were not attended 
to ; and a difference, at first to be regretted, led to consequences 
highly beneficial ; for a great number seceded from the lec- 
tures and formed an Institution entirely under the management 
of the mechanics themselves. It has been successful beyond all 
expectation ; a thousand working men attended it last winter, 
while the numbers of the parent establishment were scarcely 
diminished. Out of these public associations has arisen one upon 
a more confined but most useful plan, applicable to every large 
manufactory. The Gas Light Company's men, between 60 and 
70 in number, have formed themselves, on the suggestion of 
Mr. Kelson the foreman, into a club for mutual instruction; 
laying by a small sum monthly, they have collected about 300 
volumes, and the Company giving them a library room, which 
they light and heat, the men meet every evening, to converse 
upon literary and scientific subjects, and once a week to lecture; 
any one who chooses, giving a fortnight's notice that he will treat 
on some subject which he has been studying. The books are 
of all kinds, with the exception of theology, which from the 
various sects the men belong to is of necessity excluded.* 

It is somewhat singular, that although there are many towns 
in Scotland, and some within a short distance of Glasgow, where 
hundreds of artisans are collected, yet twenty years elapsed 
before the example was followed, and men profited by an ex- 
periment, which, for so long a period, was constantly before 

V I owe this interesting information to an admirable letter of Mr. D. Ban- 
natjne to Dr. Birkbeck, in Ike Mechanics Register. Mr. B. as early as 1817 
Mronglj recommended to the country the extension of Dr. B's plan, in a valu- 
able paper which he contributed to Mr. If, Napier's Encyclopaedia. 



23 

their eyes, and attended with such remarkable success. It was 
not till the year 1821 that Edinburgh adopted the plan with 
some variations, a part of which appear to be improvements. 

The promoters of the measure began by drawing up a short 
sketch of the proposed institution, and causing it to be circulated 
among the principal master mechanics, with a request that they 
would read it in their workshops, and take down the names of 
such of the men as were desirous of being taught the principles 
of those sciences most useful to artisans. In the course of ten 
days, between 70 and 80 names were entered ; and a private 
meeting was held of a few gentlemen who were disposed to en- 
courage the experiment. These resolved to begin a subscrip- 
tion for the purpose. In April 1821, they circulated a prospectus 
among the mechanics, announcing the commencement of a 
Course of Lectures on Mechanics, and another on Chemistry, 
in October following, — with the opening of a Library of Books 
upon the same subjects, for perusal at home as well as in the 
room; the hours of lecture to be from eight to nine in the 
evening, twice a week, for six months ; and the terms of ad- 
mission to the whole, both lectures and library, fifteen shillings 
a year. A statement was then issued to the public at large, 
announcing the establishment of a M School of Arts" with the 
particulars of the plan ; and so well was it received, by all classes, 
that in September, notice was given of 220 mechanics having 
entered as students, and such a sum having been subscribed by 
the public, as enabled the Directors to open the establishment in 
October. When 400 had purchased tickets, the two courses of 
lectures were delivered by Dr. Forbes and Mr. Galbraith ; to 
which one on architecture and one on farriery were added, with 
a class for architectural and mechanical drawing during the 
summer recess. 

The Mechanical Lectures had hardly begun, when some of 
the students, finding the want of mathematical knowledge, pro- 
posed to form themselves into a class, under one of their own 
number, a joiner, who had agreed to teach them gratuitously 
the Elements of Geometry and the higher branches of Arithme- 
tic. This suggestion was warmly approved of by the Directors, 
and some assistance in books being given, thirty met once a 
week for Geometry, and once for Arithmetic ; and adopting the 
plan of mutual instruction, they arranged the class in five divi- 
sions, each under the best scholar as a Monitor, and going over 
in one night the lessons of the night before. The number of this 
class being limited to thirty, those who were excluded formed 
another on the same plan, under a cabinet-maker, also a student 
of the School of Arts. The joiner's name is James Yule ; the 
cabinet-maker's, David Dewar ; and their successful exertions to 
teach their fellow-workmen are deserving of very great commen- 
dation. Mr. Galbraith, the Mechanical Professor, adopted the 



24 

plan of Betting exercises to his pupils; and a list has been pub- 
lished of those who chiefly distinguished themselves by the num- 
ber and accuracy of their solutions, being 25 persons. 

The average receipts of the two first years were, from sub- 
scription, 448/. yearly, and from the students 300/. The ave- 
rage expenditure was about 6201. , and a saving of 300/. was 
made towards building a lecture-room. The expenditure in- 
cludes, for furniture and apparatus, 216/. a year ; for books and 
binding, 110/.; and for expenses incident to the subscriptions, 
as advertisements, collection and meetings, about 70/. ; — leaving, 
of current necessary expenses, about 220/. only : so that, if the 
extrinsic subscriptions were at an end, or were confined to the ac- 
cumulation of a fund for building, the students could themselves 
earn on the establishment, and have a surplus of 80/. a year for 
the wear and tear, and increase, of the apparatus and the libra- 
ry ; and if their contributions were increased to a pound yearly, 
which would probably make very little, if any, difference in the 
numbers of students, an additional 100/. would be afforded for 
the better payment of the Lecturers, or, if they continue satis- 
fied, for the establishment of new lectures. This statement is 
important, as confirming the calculation formerly given, and 
showing, that, in places where the rich are less liberally inclined 
than in Edinburgh, the same invaluable establishments may easily 
be formed and perpetuated, by a judicious encouragement given 
at first to the mechanics, and without the necessity of relying 
upon continued assistance from those who first promoted and 
aided them.* 

As nothing can be more useful to the community of that great 
and enlightened city than the formation of this establishment, so 
nothing can be more honourable to the inhabitants than the zeal 
and the harmony with which all ranks have united in conducting 
it, and all parties among the rich in giving it their support. 
To Mr. Leonard Horner, in particular, with whom the plan 
originated and who has principally had the superintendence of 
its execution, the most grateful acknowledgments are deservedly 
due; and I trust I may so far use the privilege of ancient friend- 
ship, as to express my conviction thai there is no one exer- 
tion in which his greatly lamented brother would, had lie becu 
preserved to us, have borne a deeper interest, and no object 
which he would more willingly have seen connected with his 
name. 

The complete success of Dr. Hirkbeek's plan both at Glasgow 
originally, and afterwards in a place abounding far less with 

*H has been thought proper to vest the management of this institution 
wholly m the subscribers. Loral considerations. o( ■which 1 cannot pretend to 
be a judge, maj have rendered thi* necessary, but it seems, according to the 
most obvious principles, inconsistent With the prosperity and permanence of 
the plan. 



25 

artisans, very naturally suggested the idea of giving its principles 
a more general diffusion by the only means which seem in this 
country calculated for universally recommending any scheme — 
its adoption in London. An Address was published by Messrs. 
Robertson and Ilodgkin, in the Mechanics Magazine, October 
1823 ; and the call was answered promptly by Dr. Hirkbcck 
himself, and other friends of education, as well as by the master 
mechanics and workmen of the metropolis. A meeting was Ik id 
in November; the Mechanics Institution was formed; a sub- 
scription opened; and a set of regulations adopted. Of these 
by far the most important and one which in common, I beiicve, 
with all my colleagues, I consider to be altogether essential, pro- 
vides that the committee of management shall be chosen by the 
whole students, and consist of at least two-thirds working men. 
The plan was so speedily carried into execution, that in, January 
Dr. Hirkbeck, our president, most appropriately opened the 
Institution with an introductory address to many hundred work- 
men, crowding from great distances in the worst season and 
after the toils of the day were over, to slake that thirst of know- 
ledge which forms the most glorious characteristic of the ajre ; 
nor was the voluntary offer of a course of lectures upon Me- 
chanics less appropriate on the part of Professor Mollington, who 
with an honest pride declared to his audience, that he had 01 i'inally 
belonged to the same class with themselves. In the course of 
the year, lectures w r ere delivered by Mr. Phillips on Chemistry, 
Mr. Dotchin on Geometry, Dr. Hirkbeck on Hydrostatics, Mr. 
Cooper on the application of Chemistry to the; Arts, Mr. Newton 
on Astronomy, Mr. Tatum on Electricity, and Mr. Hlack on tin- 
French language, to great and increasing numbers of workmen. 
About a thousand now belong to the Institution, and pay 20s. a 
year. Temporary accommodation has hitherto been provided at. 
the chapel in Monkwell-street, formerly Dr. Lindsey\s; and if 
upon such a subject we might make any account of omens, surely 
a scheme for the improvement of mankind could not be com- 
menced under happier auspices than in the place which so vir- 
tuous and enlightened a friend of his country had once fdlcd with 
the spirit of genuine philanthropy and universal toleration. Hut 
extensive premises have been procured in Southampton Build- 
ings, for the permanent seat of the Institution ; and the founda- 
tion has been laid there of a spacious lecture-room, and other 
suitable apartments for the library and apparatus. The sum re- 
quired for these buildings exceeds three thousand pounds; and 
it has been generously advanced by Di\ Hirkbeck. Others have 
made presents of money, books, and apparatus ; and I should 
mention with greater admiration the gift of a thousand pounds 
from Sir Francis Hurdett, but that those who know him and who 
mark his conduct, have so long since become accustomed to such 
acts of wise and splendid benevolence, that they cease to make 
4 



^26 

us wonder. Let me further express my conviction, founded upon 
information, that the mechanics of this great city are resolved, as 
they are well able, to perpetuate and extend the system ; nor 
have 1 a doubt that they will, even if unassisted, erect other 
Institutions in those parts of the town which are too remote to 
benefit by the parent establishment. 

The proceedings in London gave a great and general impulse 
to the friends of education in the country, and the town of New- 
castle-upon-Tyne was the first to profit by it. An Institution 
for the instruction of mechanics by books, lectures, and scientific 
meetings, was established in March, 1824, and the first meeting 
was held, under the auspices of Mr. Turner, who opened it with 
an excellent address on the 11th of May. The members are 
admitted by ballot ; but any person paying 12s. a year is eligible; 
and the Committee of Management consists of the workmen as 
well as their masters. The library consists already of 600 or 700 
volumes. Beside benefactors, there are 240 subscribing members, 
and the meetings for discussion are held monthly ; at these, papers 
are read and conversations entertained upon any scientific or 
literary subject, with two exceptions only — controversial divinity 
and party politics. A fund is forming for the purchase of appara- 
tus, and lectures will soon be commenced. Mr. Turner, in- 
deed, several years before the establishment of the society, had 
lectured upon Natural Philosophy to the working classes. The 
Literary Society which has long flourished at Newcastle, sup- 
ported by the rich, must have contributed greatly to the love of 
knowledge which is now diffusing its blessings among the other 
classes ; and the excellent principle which it adopted of vesting 
no property or privileges in those who paid a sum by way of 
admission money, but extending an equal share in its manage- 
ment and advantages to yearly subscribers, has been strictly acted 
upon by the founders of the new institution. 

It is remarkable that the next example in point of time should 
be furnished by so inconsiderable a town as Kendal, of not more 
than 8000 inhabitants; and this instance is the more instructive 
because it shows how the system may be carried into effect with 
most limited resources. In April, 1824,it was resolved to form a 
" Mechanics and Apprentices Library and Institute ;" of which 
any person paying to the amount of three guineas in money or 
books, or 4s. yearly, might become a member and be eligible 
as well as vote for the Committee of Management. There are 
150 subscribing members, all of the working classes, beside 50 
or 60 by payment for life. The library already amounts to 300 
or 400 volumes ; and I have a letter before me from the worthy 
president, Mr. S. Marshall, stating that " the books are nearly 
all out at a time, such is the ardour for information." Original 
papers upon subjects of science and literature are read at the 
Quarterly Meetings ; no topics being excluded from discussion 



27 

except those of a polemical and party nature. A course of lec- 
tures was delivered upon the Philosophy of Natural History last 
autumn, and one on Mechanics will be given this spring; probably 
one on Chemistry also. " Great delight is stated to have been ex- 
pressed by the students who attended the lectures." Except that 
perhaps the meetings are too few, and the yearly subscription 
lower than might easily be afforded, the plan of this Institu- 
tion is one of the best I have yet seen ; and those errors, the last 
especially, are on the safe side, and may easily be corrected as the 
want of funds for lectures and apparatus may require, and the 
pleasure and profit attending a scientific education shall be more 
and more felt. 

The principles upon which this flourishing Institution was 
founded have since been acted upon at Carlisle ; and the fun- 
damental one, which on every account is the most steadily to be 
kept in view, has been wisely recognized by a formal resolution, 
" that such institutions are likely to be most stable and useful 
" when chiefly conducted by the mechanics themselves ;" and by 
a rule that two-thirds of the committee, consisting of 21, shall 
be operative mechanics; the payment of five guineas, and a guinea 
a year for seven years makes a life member ; the others pay Ss. 
a year, and are admitted by the committee by ballot, and their 
sons or apprentices have all the benefits of the Institution. Above 
300 volumes have been collected since November; 155 members 
have joined the Institution ; a course of lectures on Natural Sci- 
ence has been delivered by Mr. Nichol ; and the workmen, who 
had attended it with increasing delight, presented him at the close 
with a silver box, of four guineas value, with twelve pounds in- 
closed. The secretary, Mr. Dunbar, has been applied to by 
some good men in Dumfries, for information upon the manner 
of establishing a similar institution in that town ; and I have 
a confident expectation that the example will be followed by 
Whitehaven, if not by the smaller towns. In truth, no place is 
too small for a mechanics library ; and wherever the size will 
permit, such a beginning is sure to end in a lecture, or at least 
in some course of private instruction useful to the workmen. The 
town of Hawick has not above 4000 inhabitants; yet a mecha- 
nics society and library has been established there for some time ; 
and Mr. Wilson, from Edinburgh, went thither in the autumn, 
and delivered a course of lectures on Natural Philosophy to 200 
artisans. Out of the Haddington itinerant libraries there grew a 
School of Arts in 1821, established by some tradesmen who seve- 
ral years before had formed a society for scientific discussion ; 
and lectures on mechanics, chemistry and the mathematics, have 
since been successfully delivered to the workmen by Dr. Lorimer, 
and Messrs. Gunn and Cunningham. In like manner, the example 
of Newcastle has been followed at Alnwick, a town of only 5000 
inhabitants, where a library and a society have been founded by 
the exertion chiefly of Mr. Johnstone ; and I have good reason 



28 

to believe that the same design is in progress both at Morpeth 
'and Hexham. 

The great and wealthy and industrious town of Manchester 
might well be expected to be among the earliest and most zealous 
in establishing an Institution. This was resolved upon in April, 
and ample preparations appear to have been made for carrying 
the plan into execution — 798/. had been received before the end 
of July; of that sum 243/. were annual donations; and 191 me- 
chanics had entered their names as subscribers, at one pound a 
3'ear. A library is forming, and preparations making, I believe, 
for delivering a course of lectures. The management of the In- 
stitution, however, is entrusted to directors chosen by and 
among the honorary members only, and these are persons who 
either pay ten guineas at entrance, or a guinea a year, beside the 
subscription of 20.?. It becomes me to speak with great diffi- 
dence upon the soundness of views which may have been sug- 
gested by local considerations unknown to distant observers; but 
I cannot avoid expressing my earnest wish that this part of the 
plan may be reconsidered by the excellent and enlightened men 
who have promoted so good a work. Perhaps the fact of nearly 
as many mechanics coming forward to join the societies formed 
in places like Carlisle and Kendal, upon the opposite principle, 
as at Manchester, where the population is at least tenfold, and 
the pursuits far more congenial, and where I know that 1200 of 
the Mechanics Magazine were sold the first day it appeared, may 
give some weight to my anxious but most respectful suggestion. 

The Mechanics Institution of Leeds has been lately formed, 
principally through the exertions of Messrs. Gott and Marshall. 
Any person recommended by two members is admitted upon 
paying two pounds, and 10s. yearly; and any person for 5s. half- 
yearly is entitled to all its privileges, except that of taking part in 
the management. Two pounds seems too high for the admission 
of the workmen as generally as is desirable: a considerable num- 
ber of them are no doubt members ; and as such both vote and 
are eligible as directors, but the great majority of voters belong 
to the higher class. A slight change would remove this difficulty. 
There are 146 members and 136 subscribers already ; books of 
the value of 500/. are purchased ; and every thing is prepared 
for beginning a lecture, offers of gratuitous assistance having 
been received. The Institution is a very promising one, and the 
number of ingenious and public-spirited men in that neighbour- 
hood ensures its success, provided no impediment be thrown in 
the way of a cordial co-operation on the part of the men. The 
most exemplary spirit of union among men of very different 
parties in religion and politics has been exhibited ; and the libe- 
rality of the masters is sure to be duly appreciated by those in 
heir service. 

The Institutions which I have hitherto mentioned are formed 
avowedly for lectures as well as reading, and most of them have 



2& 

already been able to establish lectures. Some are by their plan 
confined to reading, and have not hitherto contemplated any 
further instruction ; but they may easily make the step. That 
of Liverpool deserves the first notice, as being earliest in point 
of time. 

The Mechanics and Apprentices Library at Liverpool, estab- 
lished in July, 1823, chiefly through the exertions of Mr. E. 
Smith, comes ultimately, if I mistake not, from a very illustrious 
stock ; for it was formed upon the model of the plans which owe 
their origin to the Library Company of Philadelphia, founded by 
Franklin in 1731, and incorporated in 1742. In six months S00 
volumes were collected, and 400 readers subscribed ; the library 
is now considerably increased, and there are above 600 readers. 
The sum paid is two guineas in money or books, for life, or 1 Os. 6d. 
a year ; and every person paying either way has the privilege of 
recommending readers, who receive books on the guarantee of 
any member. The committee of direction is chosen by the 
whole members, and all are eligible. The method of keeping the 
different books of receipt, loan, register, guarantee, and cata- 
logue, is admirably contrived for the quick and accurate dispatch 
of business ; and is found so successful in practice, that 700 or 
800 books are easily exchanged weekly in a very short time ; 
250 or 300 volumes being received from and as many given out 
to 200 readers in little more than an hour without any confusion. 
Where there is so much to commend, I am willing to hint at 
any imperfection ; but certainly a course of lectures might with- 
out difficulty be added to this prosperous establishment; and al- 
though any mechanic may for half a guinea enjoy all the privi- 
leges of a member as the society is now constituted, it is plain 
that the bulk of the members do not belong to this class, although 
on the guarantee and recommendation of members, by permission 
of the committee they partake of its benefits. If all were ad- 
mitted to the library and management on somewhat lower terms, 
or to the library and lectures upon those terms a little raised, 
and none allowed to partake of either for nothing, there can 
be no doubt that a greater interest would be excited among 
them, and the Institution be more firmly established and more 
certain of extending its numbers. 

A Mechanics and Apprentices Library was instituted at Shef- 
field in December, 1823, and opened in the February following, 
under the able and zealous superintendence of Mr. Montgomery, 
a name well known in the literary world, and held in deserved 
honour by philanthropists. The rules appear to me most excel- 
lent. In the workmen is vested the property, in shares of 5s. each 
paid at first, and they afterwards pay 6s. a year ; they form the 
class of proprietors ; the others, the honorary members, present 
gifts in money and books, and may, if chosen by the body at 
large, fill the offices, but have no share in the property. The 
committee may consist entirely of proprietors ; and must have 



30 

two-thirds from that body. Apprentices have the use of the 
books for 4s. yearly. The librarian is to attend daily and have 
the care of the property ; he is therefore paid : perhaps this 
might be rendered unnecessary by adopting some of the judi- 
cious regulations established at Liverpool, and exchanging the 
books once a week. Every donor of a book must write his 
name in it, as a kind of check ; and a rule has been made, as I 
understand, after a very thorough and somewhat earnest discus- 
sion, giving an appeal against the admission of books to the 
ministers of the different denominations who are subscribers ; 
this rule has however never yet been acted upon. Members 
lose the benefits of the society if in the workhouse or in prison; 
but are restored when liberated without payment of their arrears. 
Of this admirable institution there are now 360 members ; of 
whom 310 are proprietors, and the numbers of these increase 
daily. There are 1400 volumes, including some most liberal 
donations ; all collected in nine months ; and 30 apprentices 
receive the benefits of the society on the terms already stated. 
A library and philosophical society has long flourished at Shef- 
field, and now reckons 350 members, almost all manufacturers 
and tradesmen. Lectures are occasionally given in it, and I re- 
joice to hear that there is an arrangement in agitation for admit- 
ting the workmen to the benefit of these as soon as the new pre- 
mises are ready. A letter now before me relates an interesting 
anecdote for the encouragement of this design. " We have 
" in our employment a common cutler who found leisure in a 
" bad time of trade to amuse himself with entomology, and who 
" has made great progress in arranging a collection of insects 
f for our museum. Another youth in an obscure station is pre- 
" paring specimens of our Flora for the same. Ingenious me- 
■" chanical models have been repeatedly brought before us by 
" persons from whom little beyond ordinary handicraft could 
" have been expected." The first two circumstances here men- 
tioned strongly confirm the opinion which I have expressed 
elsewhere,* and which was grounded on actual observation of Mr. 
Fellenberg's establishment in Switzerland, that a high degree of 
intellectual refinement and a taste for the pleasures of specula- 
tion, without any view to a particular employment, may be united 
with a life pf hard labour, even in its most humble branches, and 
may both prove its solace and its guide. 

There are other Mechanics Institutions respecting which I 
have not the details, as the very thriving one at Aberdeen, which 
has a library of 500 volumes, a valuable apparatus, and a lec- 
ture-room for 600 students, where extensive courses on chemi- 
cal and mechanical science have been delivered. At Norwich a 
meeting w T as lately held, and attended by the most respectable 
inhabitants of all sects and parties, in order to found a Mechanics 

* Evidence before the Education Committee, 1818. 



31 

Institution. The zeal and information displayed there, leave no 
doubt whatever of the plan succeeding. Dr. Yelloly stated that 
the rules of the London Institution had been communicated by 
Dr. Birkbeck. The correspondence of our London Institution 
with different parts of the country shows that similar plans are 
in contemplation in various other districts of England. It should 
seem that a little exertion alone is wanting to introduce the sys- 
tem universally ; and this is the moment beyond all doubt, best 
fitted for the attempt, when wages are good, and the aspect of 
things peaceful. But if in any part of the kingdom more than 
another the education of the working classes is of importance, 
that part surely is Ireland. I have learned, then, with inex- 
pressible satisfaction, that there the system has already been in- 
troduced. In Dublin a Mechanics Institution has been establish- 
ed with the soundest views, the great and cardinal principle being 
recognised of taking two-thirds of the Directors from the body of 
the workmen. A similar plan has been adopted at Cork ; and I 
have reason to hope that Limerick and Belfast will follow so ex- 
cellent an example. 

To encourage good men in these exertions — to rouse the indiffe- 
rent and cheer the desponding by setting plain facts before them — 
has been the object of these details. The subject is of such inesti- 
mable importance that no apology is required for anxiously 
addressing in favour of it all men of enlightened views, who value 
the real improvement of their fellow-creatures, and the best inter- 
ests of their country. We are bound upon this weighty matter 
to be instant, in season and out of season. I now speak not merely 
of seminaries for teaching mechanics the principles of natural and 
mathematical sciences, but of schools where the working classes 
generally may learn those branches of knowledge which they 
cannot master by private reading. It must be a small town in- 
deed, where some useful lecture may not, with a little exertioa 
and a little encouragement, be so established that the quarterly 
contributions of the students may afterwards suffice to continue 
it. Moral and political philosophy may be acceptable even 
where there is no field for teachers of chemistry and mechanics ; 
and where no lecture at all can be supported, a library may be 
set on foot, and the habit of useful reading encouraged. We 
constantly hear of public-spirited individuals ; of men who are 
friendly to the poor and the working classes; of liberal-minded 
persons, anxious for the diffusion of knowledge and the cultiva- 
tion of intellectual pursuits. But no one has a right to assume 
such titles— to take credit for both zeal and knowledge— if he has 
done nothing in his own neighbourhood to found a popular lec- 
ture, or, should the circle be too narrow for that, to establish a 
reading club, which, in many cases, will end in a lecture. For 
such a club, there is hardly a village in the country too small ; 
and I have shown that towns of a very moderate size may sup- 
port a lecture. After the success of the experiments already 



S2 

made, indeed, it seems little less than shameful that there should 
beany considerable town without establishments for popular edu- 
cation. I speak from the actual history of some of the instances 
which I have cited, when I say that one man only is wanted in each 
place to ensure the success of the plan. Where there is such a 
man, and workmen in sufficient numbers, — there are all the mate- 
rials that can be required. He has but to converse with a few 
master workmen; to circulate, in concert with them, a notice for 
a meeting ; or if it be deemed better to have no meeting, let them 
ascertain how many will attend a class; and the room may be 
hired and the lecturer engaged in a month. The first cost will 
be easily defrayed by a subscription among the rich; or, if that 
fail, the collection of a library will be made by degrees out of 
the money raised by the students. The expense of providing ap- 
paratus ought not to deter any one from making the attempt. I 
have shown how much may be done with but little machinery, 
and a skilful lecturer can give most useful help to private study, 
by drawings and explanations, with hardly any experiments at all. 
The facilities too will increase ; the wish for scientific education 
will beget an effectual demand, and teachers wili present them- 
selves to supply the want. Already it would be a safe adventure 
for a lecturer to engage in, where there are great bodies of arti- 
sans. In many of the large manufacturing towns of Lancashire 
and Yorkshire, a person duly qualified to teach the principles of 
mechanics and chemistry, and their application to the arts, would 
now find it easy to collect a large class, willing and able to remu- 
nerate him for his trouble ; and it is highly probable, that, before 
long, there will be established, in each of those places, permanent 
teachers upon private speculation. 

But. great as the disposition to learn already is among the 
working classes, and certain as a lecture would be of attendants 
wherever it was once set on foot, there is still a necessity for the 
upper classes coming forward to assist in making the first step. 
Those seminaries are still too new; they are too little known 
among the artisans generally to be thought of and demanded by 
themselves ; still more difficult would it be for them to set about 
forming the plans for themselves. Even in the largest towns, 
it is hardly to be expected that the workmen should yet con- 
cert measures for their own instruction, although sufficiently 
numerous to require no pecuniary assistance in procuring the 
necessary teachers. The present then is the moment for making 
an efibrt'to propagate the system; and for giving that encourage- 
ment which may at once spread those Institutions and render uni- 
versally habitual the desire of knowledge that already prevails. 
Nor can the means be wanting among the upper, or even the 
middle ranks of society. There exist ample funds at present appli- 
ed to charitable purposes, which at best are wasted, and more fre- 
quently employed in doing harm. I speak not now ot the large 
revenue, a million and a half or more from endowments, which is 



S3 

almost altogether expended in a manner injurious to the com- 
munity : not above a third part belonging to charities connected 
with education, and of that third by far the greatest portion 
going to maintain poor children, which is nearly the worst em- 
ployment of such funds : while of the remaining two-thirds, only 
a verv small proportion is spent on perhaps the only harmless 
objects of common charity, hospitals for the sick poor, or pro- 
vision for persons ruined by grievous and sudden calamities. But 
I allude to the large sums yearly collected in every part of the 
country to support charitable institutions: and, though given 
from the best of motives, yet applied to increase the number of 
the poor almost as certainly as the parish rates themselves. These 
funds are entirely under the control of the contributors ; and to 
them I would fain address most respectfully a few words. 

Every person who has been accustomed to subscribe for the 
support of what are commonly called charities, should ask 
himself this question. ' However humane the motive, am I 
1 doing any real good by so expending my money ? or am I not 
1 doins: more harm than °;ood?' In either case, indeed, harm is 
done : because, even if the money so applied should do no mis- 
chief, yet, if it did no good, harm would be done by the waste. 
But in order to enable him to answer the question, he must 
reflect, that no proposition is more undeniably true than this, 
that the existence of a known and regular provision for the poor, 
whether in the ordinary form of pensions, doles, gratuities, 
clothing, firing, &c, or in the shape of maintenance for poor 
children, in whole, or only in part, as clothing, has the inevita- 
ble tendency to bring forward not only as many objects as the 
provision will maintain, but a far greater number. The imme- 
diate consequence of such provisions is, to promote idleness and 
poverty beyond what the funds can relieve : the continued and 
known existence of the provisions trains up a race of paupers ; 
and a provision for children, especially, promotes improvident 
marriages, and increases the population by the addition of paupers. 
It is therefore a sacred duty which every one owes to the com- 
munity, to refrain from giving contributions to begin such funds : 
and if he has already become a yearly contributor, it is equally 
his duty to withdraw his assistance, unless one condition is com- 
plied with, — namely, that no new objects shall be taken into the 
establishment, but that those only who at present belong to it 
shall be maintained ; so that the mischief may be terminated 
within a limitea time, and nothing unfair or harsh done towards 
those who had previously depended on its funds. I remember 
the time when money q;iven to beggars was supposed to be well 
bestowed — a notion now exploded: yet even this exercise of be- 
nevolence is less mischievous than the support of re sfab- 
lishments for the increase of paupe: 

•Letter to 51: -. T 
5 



34 

The wise and considerate manner of proceeding which I 
venture to recommend, would speedily place at the disposal of 
charitable and enlightened individuals ample funds for support- 
ing works of real, because of most useful charity. Let any one 
cast his eve over the Reports of the Education Committee and 
Charity Commissioners, and he may form some idea of the large 
funds now profusely squandered under the influence of mistaken 
benevolence. Of the many examples that might be given, let 
one suffice; its history is iu the Report of 1S16. The income 
was above 2000/., of winch 1500/. arose from yearly subscriptions 
and donations. This large fund clothed 101 boys, and main- 
tained 65 girls; but the expense of boarding and clothing the 
girls was of course by far the greatest part of it, perhaps 1200/. 
Much abuse appeared to have crept into the management, in 
consequence of tradesmen acting as trustees, and voting on the 
orders to themselves, and on the payment of their own accounts. 
It was deemed right to check this; and a rule was adopted, at 
a meeting of trustees, to prevent so scandalous a practice fqr 
the future. It was, however, rejected at a meeting of the sub-^% 
scribers, for which, in all probability, the tradesmen had made a 
canvass, and obtained the attendance of friends. Nay, a most 
learned and humane Judge, who was one of the trustees, having 
afterwards proposed a resolution merely to forbid any trustee or 
subscriber voting on matters in which he was personally interest- 
ed, it 'was rejected instantly, and therefore not recorded on 
the minutes;' whereupon his lordship abstained from attending 
any future meeting, and, I trust, from ever contributing to the 
fund. This is one instance only of thousands, where the money 
collected from well-disposed persons, who take no further charge 
of a charity than to pay their subscriptions, is wasted by the 
jobbing of too active and interested managers. But suppose there 
had been no direct abuse, and that all the income had been hon- 
estly and carefully employed in promoting the objects of the 
establishment, by iar the greater part of it would have been hurt- 
fully bestowed. Instead of clothing 101 boys, and maintaining 
65 girls, at the rate of 2000/. a year, the fixed income alone of 
500/. might have educated a thousand children, and left 1500/. a 
year free for establishing other schools, if wanted : and as two 
others of the same size would in all probability have more than 
sufficed to supply the defect of education which appears by the 
report of the West London Lancaster Association to exist in 
that district, a fund would have remained sufficient to support 
an institution for the instruction of 700 or S00 mechanics. Thus, 
the same money which is now not uselessly, but perniciously 
bestowed, might, by a little care, and a due portion of steadiness 
in resisting the interested clamours of persons who subscribe for 
the purpose of turning it to their own profit, be made the mean* 
of at once educating all the children in the worst district of 



35 

London, and of planting there the light of science among the 
most useful and industrious class of the community. Now, 
within the same district, or applicable to it, there are probably 
other charitable funds, arising from voluntary contribution, to 
five or six times the amount of this single charity, and it is most 
likely that there is hardly one of the benevolent individuals who 
support it but contributes to one or more charities besides. 
How important, then, does it become for each man carefully to 
reconsider the use he is making, or suffering others to make, of 
that money which his humanity has set apart for the relief of his 
fellow-creatures, and the improvement of their condition ; and 
how serious a duty is it to take care that what originates in the 
most praiseworthy motives should also end in results really ben- 
eficial to the objects of his bounty ! 



I rejoice to think that it is not necessary to close these obser- 
vations by combating objections to the diffusion of science among 
the working classes, arising from considerations of a political 
nature. Happily the time is past and gone when bigots could 
persuade mankind that the lights of philosophy were to be ex- 
tinguished as dangerous to religion; and when tyrants could 
proscribe the instructors of the people as enemies to their power. 
It is preposterous to imagine that the enlargement of our 
acquaintance with the laws which regulate the universe, can 
dispose to unbelief. It may be a cure for superstition — for 
intolerance it will be the most certain cure; but a pure and true 
religion has nothing to fear from the greatest expansion which 
the understanding can receive by the study either of matter or 
of mind. The more widely science is diffused, the better will 
the Author of all things be known, and the less will the people 
be u tossed to and fro by the sleight of men, and cunning crafti- 
" ness, whereby they lie in weight to deceive." To tyrants, 
indeed, and bad rulers, the progress of knowledge among the 
mass of mankind is a just object of terror: it is fatal to them 
and their designs; they know this by unerring instinct, and un- 
ceasingly they dread the light. But they will find it more easy 
to curse than to extinguish. It is spreading in spite of them, 
even in those countries where arbitrary power deems itself most 
secure; and in England, any attempt to check its progress would 
only bring about the sudden destruction of him who should be 
insane enough to make it. 

The question no longer is, whether or not the people shall be 
instructed — for that has been determined long ago, and the 
decision is irreversible — but whether they shall be well or ill 
taught — half informed or as thoroughly as their circumstances 
permit and their wants require. Let no one be afraid of the 
bulk of the community becoming too accomplished. Well edu- 



as 

rated, and even well versed in the most elevated sciences, they 
assuredly may become; and the worst consequence that can fol- 
low to their superiors will be, that to deserve being called their 
betters j they too must devote themselves more to the pursuit of 
solid and refined learning; the present public seminaries must 
be enlarged ; and some of the greater cities of the kingdom, espe- 
cially the metropolis,* must not be left destitute of the regular 
means within themselves, of scientific education. 

To the Working Classes I would say, that this is the time when 
by a great effort they may secure for ever the inestimable bless- 
ing of knowledge. Never was the disposition more universal 
among the rich to lend the requisite assistance for setting in mo- 
tion the great engines of instruction ; but the people must come 
forward to profit by the opportunity thus afforded, and they 
must themselves continue the movement once begun. Those who 
have already started in the pursuit of science, and tasted its 
sweets, require no exhortation to persevere ; but if these pages 
should fall into the hands of any one at an hour for the first 
time stolen from his needful rest after his day's work is done, I 
ask of him to reward me (who have written them for his benefit 
at the like hour) by saving threepence during the next fortnight, 
buying with it Franklin's Life, and reading the first page. I 
am quite sure he will read the rest ; I am almost quite sure he 
will resolve to spend his spare time and money, in gaining those 
kinds of knowledge which from a printer's boy made that e;reat 
man the first philosopher, and one of the first statesmen of his 
age. Few are fitted by nature to go as far as he did, and it is 
not necessary to lead so perfectly abstemious a life, and to be so 
rigidly saving of every instant of time. But all may go a 
good way after him, both in temperance, industry and know- 
ledge, and no one can tell before he tries how near he may be 
able to approach him. 

• Since this work was first published, I am very happy to say that considera- 
ble progress has been made in maturing a plan for improving the education 
of the middle and upper classes, by establishing a University in London. That 
this great city should so long have remained with the benefits of scientific 
education accessible only to the very small portion of its wealthiest classes, 
and beyond the reach of above a million of its inhabitants, seems hardly credi- 
ble. Such a grievance could only have been submitted to through the invete- 
rate habit which men are apt to get into of conceiving that no one thing can 
be arranged otherwise than they have been used to see it. It cannot be borne 
much longer; nor is the establishment of a great public school now problemati- 
cal upon a like plan, combining cheap education with the inestimable advantage 
of parental superintendence. The only benefit that I have ever heard ascribed 
to a premature emancipation of children is, that it is supposed to give them 
manly habits. 1 never saw any want of manly feelings at the proper age, that 
is the years of manhood, among boys educated in the Scotch public schools, 
where they eat, and sleep, and spend their Saturdays and Sundays at home. 
IN or have 1 ever known in those seminaries such scenes of early manhood as 
have lately disgraced one of our public seminaries, and brought almost equal 
disgrace upon the administration of criminal justice in England. 






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